The Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) is a five-year grant from the NJ Department of Community Affairs that is designed to generate visible, tangible change in the Downtown Neighborhood driven by local residents and business owners. Downtown Trenton is one of 40 NPP neighborhoods statewide.

The City of Trenton was the lead applicant for this grant, in partnership with Isles, Inc., which is coordinating its implementation with guidance from the NPP Stakeholders Group. The City of Trenton's Division of Planning provides oversight and guidance of the NPP Coordinator (Chris Shimchick, Senior Project Manager at Isles).

As a citizen-driven process, NPP relies on the support of a comprehensive community survey, oversight of a representative stakeholders team, and an ongoing dialogue with community members through regular community engagement. A Downtown Trenton NPP Stakeholders Group is made up of downtown residents, business owners, property owners, and faith-based leaders to help prioritize funding of projects and to provide ongoing guidance/feedback throughout this process.

The NPP will focus projects in an area of downtown from Route 1 to North Willow Street and from Perry to Lafayette Street. To view a larger map, click here.

The Neighborhood Preservation Program seeks to address many of the issues that stem from appearance and safety concerns to further a more vibrant Downtown atmosphere. These two issues were identified as the highest priorities in the NPP Community Survey. Its implementation will also serve as a spark to strengthen relationships and communication between various stakeholders and the City of Trenton.

Through a collaborative community process that included stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and review of prior research, this Action Plan proposes five strategic goals:

Goal 1: APPEARANCE: Improve appearance, maintenance, and cleanliness of buildings, public spaces, and businesses.

Goal 2: PUBLIC HEALTH & COMMUNITY SAFETY: Create a safe, walkable, welcoming community that is intolerant of violence and provides recreational and health-oriented resources and opportunities.

Goal 3: RESIDENT EMPOWERMENT & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: Ensure residents and local businesses have the skills, knowledge, and economic capacities to actively contribute to the revitalization of the neighborhood.

Goal 4: CREATIVE ARTS: Incorporate creative arts and culture into all aspects of the NPP district’s revitalization.

Goal 5: STRENGTHEN & SUSTAIN COORDINATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS: Nurture strong relationships between City of Trenton, Trenton Police Department, Trenton Parking Authority, Trenton Downtown Association, and Trenton Downtown community stakeholders

Examples of Year 1 activities include:

-reactivation of vacant lots and underutilized spaces with consistent maintenance and trash collection

-support for downtown residents to improve home exterior repairs

-support and technical assistance for downtown business owners

-improved wayfinding via signage installation

-improved lighting and sidewalk, and pedestrian/crosswalk repairs

-small grants to support community-driven projects to improve and beautify the Downtown

-coordinate a pop-up market to support creative businesses and artists in a vacant storefront

You can read the plan here!

Contact Chris Shimchick, NPP Coordinator at:

609-341-4716

cshimchick@isles.org